fa la la la la la la la la la

Is that even the right number of "la"s?? I kind of got lost there.



We started our christmas celebrations in earnest last night. We went to the live nativity at Tuacahn. Nice, but man was it frigid!



Mike's parents will be here in a few hours. We'll have our big dinner and play games tonight. On the menu:

standing rib roast with homemade horseradish stuff and pinot noir sage jus
Pioneer Woman's hot crash potatoes
Pioneer Woman's whiskey glazed carrots - We had them at Thanksgiving and they were da bomb!
green beans
bread from the machine
gingerbread cake and fresh whipped cream
chocolate pie for Mike because he doesn't do gingerbread


Then the jolly dude in the red suit will come. We'll open presents in the morning and eat cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing.


Happy Christmas!

more snow

It snowed most of the night last night and we ended up with 3" or so of snow. Enough to really play in. So first thing after breakfast we blew up T's snow tube, bundled up and went out to the common area behind our house to play.

Thomas's snowman

snow angel

my snowman

T's snow train

hugging the snow man

Elfed Ourselves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

mad scientist

We got a gift from the in-laws (thanks, guys!) last night. Omaha steaks for Mike & I. What the in-laws did not bargain for was that it was just as big a gift to Thomas, even though he can't eat the food. Why? Dry ice.

And a few stills for the video-impaired.

Toroweap/Tuweep

A few weekends ago we ventured out into the Arizona strip to Toroweap point. The Arizona strip is the little section in the northwest corner of Arizona that is pretty much cut off from the rest of the state by the Grand Canyon. There are some rough 4WD roads from our area out to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. It is isolated and remote, without services and a really long drive because the roads are so rough. But gorgeous, unspoiled and totally worth the trip. You can read more about Toroweap point here.

O Christmas Tree

snow pics

SNOW!

Yay! it's snowing!! Not much is sticking to the ground, but Thomas and I went out to play this afternoon anyway. We don't get much in these parts, so we make the best of what we get! I took pictures, of course, but have to wait until the other computer boots to upload them. It could be awhile, folks. Just sayin'.

super nerdy science time

Who knew a little salt dough, dish soap, food coloring, baking soda and vinegar could make a kid this happy?

countdown calendar

Made this at our homeschool mom's project night last week. It's pretty cute and we've had fun putting up the new magnet every day.

chemistry!

Thomas has been wanting to study chemistry. And I've been putting him off like a good homeschooling mama. lol. I know he has visions of mad scientist-type experiments. I have visions of the house blowing up. Seriously, though, the real reason I've been putting him off is that I didn't know of any chemistry curriculum that was age-appropriate. Until now! Real Science 4 Kids chemistry

So when we finish up our astronomy text in the next few months, we'll start in on this. Yeah!

last Christmas

'Tis the season for old Christmas music!



I can't believe she had the nerve to wear that brooch to dinner! The video should've ended with her in a body bag!

And wasn't George the cutest?! Too bad he likes boys better.

yes, this is how we treat our guests

Uncle Ron totally humoring Thomas

thankful

Thomas & Aunt Christie

We had a great Thanksgiving, spent with family. Mike's parents and his aunt & her husband were able to come here to celebrate with us. The menu went off without a hitch. I got my ego stroked quite a bit by having it declared the best Thanksgiving meal *ever*. We played games, visited & ate too much. Those are the makings of a great day in my book.

just a few of the many things I'm thankful for:
my awesome husband
Thomas's improved eating
making good friends here
friends from GA who still keep in touch with us
a new church to call home
family who loves us